There's a calming hum to the laid-back vibe of Fukuoka, the largest city on the Japanese island of Kyushu. It's hard to miss on a weekend afternoon as you stroll along Meiji-dori Avenue, the sprawling spine of the city center, passing venues like the Kabuki Theater. Hakata-za and the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum. Eventually, you'll reach the slow-flowing Naka River, whose banks are lined with traditional open-air food stalls known as yatai, an iconic attraction of this culinary and artistic paradise.
With a sprawling trading port that was Japan's largest between the 12th and 16th centuries and still connects the country to China, Korea and other parts of the Pacific today, Fukuoka has long been considered Japan’s “gateway to Asia”. A popular destination for Japanese holidaymakers, the city also attracts foreign tourists, which has been particularly visible since the country reintroduced visa-free entry last October. They come for the city's renowned cuisine, laid-back atmosphere, vibrant arts and nightlife scenes, and temperate climate. And then there are the historic sites like the beautifully preserved Tochoji Temple, and the natural beauty found in places like the lush gardens. Ohori Park and the splendid experimental roof garden at the top the ACROS building.
Here are some places visitors might want to include in their itinerary.
A culinary paradise
There is no end to restaurants offering typical Japanese cuisine like sushi and ramen, as well as the multi-course Japanese fine dining known as kaiseki.
But what sets Fukuoka's culinary scene apart is its emphasis on local specialties like motsunabe (beef tripe hot pot), mizutaki (chicken hot pot) and mentaiko (marinated pollock roe), dishes often served at yatai, which usually have small outdoor dishes. kitchens, counter space and limited seating.
One of the innovative yatai owners is 29-year-old Akihiro Korehisa. After struggling to open his own restaurant during the pandemic, he turned to operating a yatai as an option, hoping for less overhead and more excitement.
The Yatai dinner, Mr Korehisa said, celebrates the city's first order seafood and produce. His stand, HEROs, which travels around downtown Fukuoka (its current location is still available on its website). Instagram account), is a bustling place, attracting both locals and tourists with dishes like seiro-mushi (beef and vegetables prepared in a bamboo steamer) and chawan-mushi (steamed egg custard ). A full meal here will cost around 2,500 yen, or just over $17.
“The authentic atmosphere of yatai can only be experienced in Fukuoka,” Mr. Korehisa said. “Here you can make friends very quickly, even with the stranger sitting next to you.”
You'll find that same kind of instant camaraderie in the city's wine, sake, and craft beer shops. Take Todoroki Saketen in the Yakuin district, where sommelier Kazuya Ishida, 36, has worked since 2016. In the store's kakuuchi (standing bar), customers can sip hundreds of natural wines, many from Japan, as well as sake (including Japanese sake). 20 breweries in Kyushu), shochu (rice or barley liquor) and umeshu (plum wine).
“A lot of tourists here are interested in food as a form of tourism, and that also involves drinking,” he said. “Wine paired with food has become more common in Japan, and I think natural wine is more popular in Fukuoka than other places because it goes well with our dishes.”
Food and drinks in Fukuoka are delicious and inexpensive, which creates a certain level of competitiveness among restaurateurs. Chef Kazuichi Matsuo calls the culinary scene an “intangible cultural heritage born from friendly rivalry.” After 27 years in the kitchens of Fukuoka and 15 years in the famous but humble Motsunabe IkkeiMr. Kazuichi has mastered the excellent hot pot stew known as motsunabe, made with pork or beef tripe, cabbage, bean sprouts and garlic (1,580 yen).
“Originally derived from the spiritual food of coal miners in Kitakyushu City, motsunabe took root in Fukuoka,” he said, adding that diners often share the stew as a communal dish. “It’s a great communication tool,” he said.
On the west bank of the Naka River, in the trendy Daimyo district, sits another culinary innovator: Yoshimitsu Obara, the bar's 37-year-old owner. Citadel. Perhaps Fukuoka's most experimental mixologist, he's been operating his intimate wood-framed haunt since 2018. Here you can drink drinks made with blue cheese, Doritos, curry, and basically anything the charismatic can think of Mr. Obara. (A new recipe includes green curry distilled gin, pineapple tequila, lime, coconut, soda, tonic and shishito peppers.) With lighted wooden shelves filled with jars in glass labeled with handwritten notes, the ambiance of Citadel evokes a cozy laboratory. Most cocktails are unique to the bar.
“Also However, originality can be a hard sell. Fukuokans are easily excited by the new, but it's the warm hospitality that remains,” said Mr. Obara, who on a Friday evening was sitting with his laptop, preparing to fly to Seoul the next day for a mixology competition. He mentioned Seoul as if it were around the corner.
At the Citadel and elsewhere, outsiders still attract the attention of curious locals. In the hybrid record store and cafe space Stereo Coffee, Haruki Shibata, a 23-year-old barista, approached me and politely asked where I was from. Born and raised in the Hakata district, he brought to my attention the mix of Japanese and Korean influences that was happening in Fukuoka because of its proximity to Busan, less than a four-hour ferry ride across the Korea Strait. According to him, this contributes to the cultural identity of the city, not only in the culinary scene, but also in the artistic scene.
A cultural haven too
Fukuoka's status as an artistic incubator is maintained by museums, art schools and creative spaces. Among these, Baku Art Space, founded in 1972 by Ritsuko Oda, now 74, and her husband Mitsuru, is one of the best known. Ms. Oda said she is dedicated to discovering new artists. “Fukuoka is a comfortable place for artists because of good rent and transportation,” she said.
Climbing the narrow stairs to a kissaten (old-fashioned cafe) on Oyafuko Street, I was transported back several decades, until I noticed the abstract, partly digital, contemporary art in an exhibition in the café gallery. Kazuya Itou, a Nagasaki artist whose work this is, became familiar with Art Space Baku while studying at Sangyo University of Kyushu in Fukuoka and has been a frequent visitor ever since.
“I think most people who display art in Fukuoka have a strong connection to this place,” Mr. Itou, 64, said as he showed me his colorful and abstract exhibit “Mass of Coordinate Point K “.
Mr. Itou, whose work was presented at the Busan Biennale and South Korean galleries, believes that the art and technology scenes of Fukuoka and Busan are closely linked – something the opening of the famous Japanese digital art collective TeamLab Forest underlines. “For better or worse,” he said, “much of Fukuoka culture today is shaped by our position at the forefront of Japanese culture and technology during the technology boom on the Korean peninsula. »
Music is also booming in Fukuoka and, again, there is an emphasis on talent development. At the jazz room Trombone clubnear the Naka River, I met jazz pianist Sonoko Kawasawa, 41, who started playing six years ago and was encouraged by the club's owner, Mihara-san, who was present behind the bar , as well as Ms. Kawasawa and the 37 Saxophonist Yuki Uryu, 12, performed jazz standards like “Autumn Leaves” and “Chelsea Bridge.”
“Fukuoka’s music scene has a humanistic side,” Ms. Kawasawa said. “Artistic originality is strong here. »
One place where many of the city's defining multicultural characteristics converge is the magnificent 010 Buildingalso near the Naka River, designed by the New York firm Cloud Architecture. Building 010 is the fruit of the imagination of an artistic entrepreneur Jirō Enomotonative of Fukuoka, who has played a key role in the city's cultural scene since he founded his company, Zero-Ten, in 2011 after a stint in the American film industry.
I met Mr. Enomoto at the 010 Building bar, where he gave me an inspirational speech about his city and space, while in-house burlesque performers mingled nearby.
“I wanted to create a new cultural center, in a symbolic location near the city's yatai stalls,” Mr. Enomoto told me through a haze of theatrical dance floor smoke and electronic music, adding that Fukuoka “ is well suited to this project. because it is still a gateway to Asia, flexible towards new cultures.
That same evening, over a tea and roasted rum cocktail, a local patron of 010 Bar mentioned that Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio I stayed in Fukuoka during their honeymoon in 1954. Later, while bathing in the onsen (natural hot spring) Manyo-no-yu in Hakata, I pondered this piece of Hollywood history in the Fukuoka puzzle. And it seemed totally in tune with the city’s identity, past and present. How could Marilyn and Joe miss the many pleasures of this bustling Asian port city?
Where to stay
Mitsui Garden Hotel Fukuoka Nakasu is a modern and luxurious hotel located in Nakasu, on the banks of the Naka River. A room for two people recently started at around 19,000 yen, or $130.
The anime Fukuoka Hakataa chic, designer hotel in Hakata with an inviting bar, offers double rooms that recently started at around 18,200 yen.
Lamp Light Books Hotel Fukuoka is a book-themed hotel located in Fukuoka's trendiest district, Daimyo. Doubles start at around 12,600 yen.
Hotel Mei Fukuoka Tenjinin the heart of Fukuoka, offers doubles with minimalist decor, starting at around 10,850 yen.
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